A year or so ago I tried shaving, with disasterous results. I shaved with the hair, exfoliated, put lotion on, but alas for two weeks I horrible suffered ingrown hairs, a rash, the whole shabang. It was bad enough that just putting on pants made me cringe. So I've stuck with just keeping everythign neatly trimmed, but I just really wish i could shave. I read an article somewhere about everything that witch hazel could be used for and it said that i could help stop ingrown hair and redness. I use it daily as a facial toner and it does miricles for my skin, but I was wondering if anyone knew of any hazards of using it 'down there', because of the delicate skin. Any enlightenment anyone can share would be greatly appreciated, and if this has been asked a thousand times then completely ignore this, but the search engine brought nothing up.
Witch Hazel for Ingrown Hairs?
- Thread starter auerianna
- Start date
That may help, as astringents (like witch hazel) and exfoliation are the two best ways to deal with ingrown hairs. That being said, however, I think some people (like me) are just prone to ingrown hair, and I am not sure that much can be done. I get them all the time, and I have tried everything. Some things seem to work a little, but I have not found anything that is 100% effective. I want to get waxed, but have heard that you can still get ingrown hairs, so I am not sold on that. One thing that seems to work is deoderant. I had heard from several good sources that it would work, and it does to some degree.
SweetErika
Fingers Crossed
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2004
- Posts
- 13,442
If you had that many problems with shaving (assuming you used good tools and technique), putting on some astringent after you try again is unlikely to help.
I'd suggest exfoliating (you should do this before shaving, too) and then getting professionally waxed by a reputable technician. Make sure s/he knows you had major irritation and ingrown hairs with shaving and ask what steps you should take at home to prevent similar problems with waxing (though you likely don't need to buy any products at the salon...if you think a recommended product is a great idea, you can probably get the same thing for a fraction of the price on your own at a beauty supply or whatever).
If you end up liking the results after a few sessions, you might want to consider waxing at home. I got all the supplies (including a very nice warmer) in a kit for about $30 at Sally Beauty Supply and I have my husband do it for me, but other people here use the pre-waxed strips and such and do it themselves.
I'd suggest exfoliating (you should do this before shaving, too) and then getting professionally waxed by a reputable technician. Make sure s/he knows you had major irritation and ingrown hairs with shaving and ask what steps you should take at home to prevent similar problems with waxing (though you likely don't need to buy any products at the salon...if you think a recommended product is a great idea, you can probably get the same thing for a fraction of the price on your own at a beauty supply or whatever).
If you end up liking the results after a few sessions, you might want to consider waxing at home. I got all the supplies (including a very nice warmer) in a kit for about $30 at Sally Beauty Supply and I have my husband do it for me, but other people here use the pre-waxed strips and such and do it themselves.
fire_breeze
Softly Seductive
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2007
- Posts
- 47,777
Exactly.
And if you do with the waxing route, I'd like to repeat what SweetErika said: tell her that you have problems with ingrown hairs. She might use a different type of wax, prep the skin different, and apply a different after-care product.
I've had some troubles with ingrown hair when I shave a long time ago - I wax and I can count on one hand how many ingrowns I've had since, almost always because I didn't exfoliate properly.
Good luck.
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